06 November 2015
Our homework this week is practice makes perfect. In English this week, we’ve been focussing on our own targets for writing and your child’s homework reflects that target. Your child has got one task to do, depending on their group.
To accurately spell high frequency words
This group have been looking at spelling rules and ways to practise their spellings. Their homework is to Look, Cover, Write, Check a group of high frequency words. Once they have practised these, they need to use them in sentences to describe fireworks.
To use ‘middlers’ effectively
‘Middlers’, which can be used to add extra information, are a type of subordinate clause. They’re placed in the middle of a sentence and are usually punctuated with commas either side. (Did you spot the middler in the first sentence?!) This group have to punctuate a group of sentences and then write their own sentences with middlers. When your child has completed this task, ask them if their sentence would make sense if the middler was removed – if it doesn’t, they’ll need to rewrite it.
To choose adjectives for impact
This group have been discussing how to use adjectives effectively. In their writing, they’re using an impressive range of adjectives but these adjectives do not always match the noun they are describing (I drank a colossal glass of water would usually not work as well as I drank a full glass of water).
To help with this, we’ve used target grids in class to rank adjectives for different purposes. On the grid, the best possible adjectives go in the middle and less effective adjectives are placed further away. Your child has a group of adjectives that describe fireworks and must rank them using this grid. They must then use the best adjectives to describe some fireworks.
To use a wider range of conjunctions
For this target, pupils have worked on expanding the types of conjunctions they use in their writing. A conjunction is used to join two words/sentences together to form one idea/sentence. We describe this as a ‘strong join’ in class. The homework for this group is about the choice of conjunction. They’ve been given similar sentences in groups of three that must be completed with either but, and or so. The challenge is to make sure that all three sentences make sense.
To punctuate sentences
This group are focussing on using capital letters and full stops to punctuate sentences. I have given the group pairs of sentences that have been ‘squashed together’ – children must decide where one sentence finishes and the next starts.
06 November 2015
The homework this week is creative and is due in on Wednesday 11 November.
I know what a safe risk is.
The SEAL theme this half-term is the 8 Rs for learning. One of the 8 Rs is being able to take a safe risk. In this homework, I’d like children to show me that they know what a safe risk is. Examples of safe risks children make are putting their hand up in a lesson to answer a question or crossing a road at a safe crossing point.
It’s half-term…
…so there is no homework this week.
Please make sure your child spends some time most days reading – books, comics, newspapers… Why not visit the library or a book shop this week?
To support writing, your child should review their spellings from the last few weeks. You could test them on words from all the lists, and ask them to use the words in sentences or a story, or create a comic strip with a word used in each speech bubble.Perhaps you could set a challenge (for you as well as your child!) of using spelling words in everyday conversations! Practising handwriting by joining up is a useful activity, too.
In Maths, children in Key Stage 2 should definitely practise times tables – including the related division facts. Can your child respond within five seconds (not counting up to work it out) to questions like ‘What’s 7 times 8?’ and ‘What’s 42 divided by 6?’
Of course, make sure your child is happy and healthy over half-term, too! A walk and play at Roundhay Park, a bike ride, a conker challenge, a trip to the art gallery… Enjoy!
16 October 2015
The homework this week is talk time and is due in on Wednesday 21 October:
Should everybody be able to go on holiday?
Discuss reasons why people may not be able to go on holiday. Does your child think this is fair? Is a holiday a necessity or a luxury? How might someone feel if they can’t go on holiday?
There is much more to discuss than the above but I hope it acts as a starting point for your conversations. Why not get the whole family involved over dinner time, or ask opinions from relatives by calling or emailing them?
16 October 2015
The homework this week is practice makes perfect and is due in on Wednesday 21 October.
I can use commas in a list.
We’ve been practising using commas to mark items in a list. For this homework, I’d like children to write a couple of lists telling me what items they would pack to take on a holiday.
On Wednesday, we’ll then read the sentences and guess what type of holidays the children are going on. For example:
When I go on holiday, I need to remember to pack my helmet, gloves, t shirt, trainers, water bottle, sun cream, pump and my bike.
16 October 2015
Practice Makes Perfect focusses on spellings this week. Choose 15 spellings you have learnt so far this year and write it into a sentence. Think about how you can show what you’ve learnt about different types of sentences too.
- Simple sentence (made more interesting with adverbs and adjectives)
- Compound sentence (using conjunctions to join ideas)
- Complex sentence (with an opener, middler or ender)
16 October 2015
This week’s homework is Talk Time and will be discussed on Wednesday 21 October.
I make my class a good place to learn.
Discuss at home how you and other people in the class can make our class a good place to learn all the time. We’ll then share our ideas together on Wednesday.
Don’t forget to write a couple of sentences to help support your discussion in class.
09 October 2015
The homework this week is talk time and is due in on Wednesday 14 October.
Is it better to holiday in your own country or a foreign country?
This homework poses a moral question about the implications of our holiday choices. Consider the environmental impact, the economic impact and the cultural experience of holidays both at home and abroad.
09 October 2015
This week’s homework is creative and is due in on Wednesday 14 October.
I can create a promotional image of Scarborough.
Over the past two weeks, we’ve been learning about promotions and how language is used to persuade people to buy something or visit somewhere. On Friday, we finished off this English focus with an extended piece of writing. Next week, we will be improving and displaying our promotional texts so we need some images to go with these. You could create a post card, a web page or even just illustrate one of the many attractions Scarborough has to offer.
09 October 2015
Year 5 also have a Practice Makes Perfect each week. This week you have been assigned three tasks on Mathletics to be completed by Wednesday 14 October.
- Comparing decimals
- Decimal order
- Rounding decimals
Don’t forget to press the ? if you’re struggling. We have just been learning about decimals in class so you should be able to complete this on your own.